BlackBerry software to go under the hood at Jaguar Land Rover in new partnership

BlackBerry, once the ruler in the smartphone space, will now be making its mark in cars after signing a multi-year agreement with Jaguar Land Rover to collaborate and develop technology for the auto maker’s next generation vehicles.

BlackBerry will licence its software to Jaguar Land Rover and also assign a team of engineers to develop a new infotainment system as part of the ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

It will also be instrumental in developing the technology for connected, autonomous and electric vehicles.

Once the go-to brand for smartphones, BlackBerry’s major focus today is enterprise software and security.

The company is already a leader in safety-certified, secure and reliable software for the automotive industry.

“Working with BlackBerry will enable us to develop the safe and secure next-generation connected car our customers want,” said Dave Nesbitt, Vehicle Engineering Director at Jaguar Land Rover.

“Together with BlackBerry engineers, we will be able to access the most dynamic and up-to-date software to ensure the highest security required for our connected vehicles.”

BlackBerry currently provides OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) with technology to protect hardware, software and applications and end-to-end systems with cyber attacks.

Its reputation in security and innovation has led the company to recent automotive design wins with Baidu, Delphi, Denso, NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Visteon among others.

“We are at a pivotal moment, where innovative automakers, such as Jaguar Land Rover, are realizing they need to take an active role in defining the software architecture for their vehicles,” said John Wall, SVP and GM of BlackBerry QNX, BlackBerry.

“Connected and autonomous vehicles will react and drive based on rich data.

“Our platforms help process data efficiently and keep it secure and trusted. We are incredibly honoured to work with Jaguar Land Rover and look forward to our teams working hand in hand to deliver an enhanced driving experience for their customers.”

Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer that includes two of the world’s most iconic car brands.

Land Rover is one of the most desired all-wheel drive vehicles while Jaguar is a marquee luxury sports car badge.

In 2017, Jaguar Land Rover sold more than 621,000 vehicles in 130 countries with more than 80 per cent sold outside the UK.

From 2020, all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will be electric.